An image grab taken from a video uploaded on Youtube on June 17, 2014, allegedly shows militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) parading with their weapons in the northern city of Baiji in the in Salaheddin province. (AFP Photo) / AFP

More than 5,000 Iraqis have died in the violence in the country so far this year, a large proportion of them women and children suffering gruesome deaths at the hands of ISIS extremists and over-zealous security forces, says a detailed new UN report.

“Every day we receive accounts of a terrible litany of human
rights violations being committed in Iraq against ordinary Iraqi
children, women and men, who have been deprived of their
security, their livelihoods, their homes, education, healthcare
and other basic services,” said UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights, Navi Pillay.

“The deliberate or indiscriminate targeting of civilians, the
killing of civilians, the use of civilians as shields, the
hindering of access for civilians to humanitarian assistance may
amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity. Parties to the
conflict are required by international human rights law and
international humanitarian law to prevent such violations and
abuses from taking place.”

The new report says that June, which marked the
escalation of the offensive by the Sunni jihadist group ISIS, has
been the most chaotic, with a conservative estimate of more than
1,500 people killed and more than 600,000 displaced from their
homes, half of the total number of internal Iraqi refugees.

“ISIL (ISIS) and associated armed groups have carried out
many of these attacks in a systematic manner heedless of the
impact on civilians, or have systematically targeted civilians
and civilian infrastructure with the intention of killing and
wounding as many civilians as possible. Targets have included
markets, restaurants, shops, cafes, playgrounds, schools, places
of worship and other public spaces where civilians gather in
large numbers,” said the report.

Among the atrocities committed by the group is the execution of
480 Shia inmates in Badush prison in the newly-captured city of
Mosul on June 10, which turned so bloody “that some detainees
were able to flee and others survived by pretending to be dead
under the bodies of other detainees.”

The report also notes systematic terror tactics used against
those not killed or shrines not destroyed in initial ISIS
assaults, such as the ‘Watheqat al Madina’ statue in the Ninewa
region.

“The document authorizes the execution of any persons failing
to abide by the rules, destroying religious sites of other
schools of thought or religions, and restricting severely women’s
right to freedom of movement among other preoccupying
regulations.”

Predictably, those most vulnerable in peace-time – women,
children, minorities and the disabled – have been
“disproportionately” affected by the outbreaks of
violence.

“Credible information on recruitment and use of children as
soldiers was also received and the United Nations has started
documenting cases despite the sensitivity of the information and
fears of families. Children are recruited by armed opposition
groups, including ISIL and associated armed groups, and used as
informants, for manning checkpoints and in some cases as suicide
bombers.”

The US-backed Shia government, whose rigidity and neglect of
Sunni-dominated areas is thought to have provided a fertile
ground for a sectarian uprising, also comes in for severe
criticism.

“UNAMI has also documented violations committed by the Iraqi
Security Force and affiliated forces – including summary
executions/extrajudicial killings of prisoners and detainees,
which may constitute a war crime and, on occasion, lack of
adherence to the principle of distinction and proportionality or
failures to take necessary precautions to protect civilians in
carrying out military operations.”

In many incidents described, the unchecked actions of security
officers, and nebulous “pro-government” militias are
identical in their style and impact to those of ISIS.

“On 21 June, nine internally displaced families from Jalula
reported that their homes had been burned by Shia militiamen in
revenge for their families allegedly being sympathizers of
ISIS,” says one entry in a litany of abuses that relied
largely on direct evidence from witnesses and victims.

“It was reported on 15 June, that on 14 June, 31 detainees
were executed at the al-Qalaa police station in Tal Afar by ISF
when fleeing their posts shortly before the approach of ISIS.
Reports state that 36 detainees were ordered to leave their cells
by one officer and three policemen who then proceeded to open
fire,” claimed another.

While the report is concrete in its detailing of problems, its
proposed solutions about the need for “respect for human
rights” are abstract and unenforceable. But Nickolay
Mladenov, who heads the UN mission in the country, believes real
progress can only arrive with the creation of a consensus
government to replace Nouri Maliki, who has been in power since
2006.

“It is vital that Iraqi leaders quickly move forward on the
nomination of a new President and a new Government. An inclusive
political process, cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil (the
Kurdish capital) as well as a nationally accepted security plan
are important elements in restoring the rule of law and bringing
the country back from the brink of chaos,” said Mladenov.